Steering nibble is an undesirable rotational vibration experienced at a steering wheel and/or, more generally, at a steering system of a vehicle. Steering nibble typically occurs while the vehicle is traveling in a straight line. In some vehicles, steering nibble is caused by the chassis system responding to wheel force variations, which eventually feedback in the form of slight rotations in the steering system that are conveyed to the steering wheel. In many vehicles, steering nibble is caused by the presence of a front wheel imbalance or front wheel force variation. Steering nibble may also be caused by the presence of deformed brake disks rotors, whereby the resultant steering nibble is commonly characterized as brake judder.
Steering nibble is typically a first order phenomenon occurring at a frequency of one times (1×) the frequency of the front wheel speed. The magnitude of the steering nibble is maximized when the frequency of the front wheel speed aligns with the resonant frequency of the steering system, which typically ranges between 12.0 to 20.0 Hz. Steering nibble commonly results in customer (e.g., driver) dissatisfaction. It is accordingly advantageous to control (e.g., reduce and/or eliminate) occurrences of steering nibble within a steering system of a vehicle.